Rohith’s episode refuses to die down

Video of research scholar Rohith Vemula asserting his Dalit status surfaces on social media; goes viral

Hyderabad: It looks like the case of Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula, who committed suicide allegedly due to discrimination by the University of Hyderabad (UoH) authorities months ago, is still unwilling to die down. A video, purportedly showing Rohith Vemula, who ended his life in January, claiming that he was a Dalit has gone viral, days after a judicial panel reportedly rejected his caste status in its probe report.

In the video, appeared to have been shot at a tent (named as ‘Dalit ghetto’) near the Shopcom area in UoH where Vemula and his other colleagues had stayed following their suspension, Vemula talked about himself and his background. He is purportedly seen describing himself as a Dalit from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and that his mother raised him.

Vemula also talked about his suspension, his studies and students’ activism in the video clip. After he committed suicide, Vemula’s family members, friends and political parties alleged that he was a victim of caste discrimination. Students, political parties and social groups had demanded that a ‘Rohith Act be brought to end the alleged discrimination in educational institutions against the students belonging to disadvantaged sections.

In its report, the Justice Roopanwal Commission, set up by Union HRD Ministry, stated that material on record did not establish that Vemula was a Dalit and attributed his suicide to personal reasons. The report also gave a clean chit to Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya besides absolving UoH authorities of any blame for Vemula’s death. The commission is learnt to have raised questions about Vemula’s caste status as a Dalit saying that there was no proof that his mother V Radhika belonged to ‘Mala’ community.